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Empowering the Individual: A Solution to Maine’s Housing Crisis
June 14, 2022 @ 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Please join Maine Policy Institute on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at The Woodlands Club in Falmouth, Maine, as we welcome The Honorable Jason Levesque, Mayor of Auburn.
Mayor Levesque’s discussion, Empowering the Individual: A solution to Maine’s Housing Crisis, will focus on efforts he has helped spearhead in Auburn to deregulate local land use and zoning policies to allow for more housing opportunities in Maine’s fifth largest city.
Before lawmakers pursued statewide housing policy changes last session, Auburn was setting an example for the rest of the state by eliminating exclusionary zoning rules, allowing property owners to build accessory dwelling units on their own land, and reducing parking space requirements. As a result, the city is primed for greater housing, new construction, and growth, with 800 new housing units built within the last two years and a goal of 2500 built by 2025.
Mayor Jason J. Levesque, of Auburn, is a fifth-generation Auburn resident and a 1992 graduate of Edward Little High School. After attending college at West Virginia Wesleyan College and concluding an eight-year tour in the US Army, Mayor Levesque realized that there was no place he would rather start a company and raise a family than in Auburn, Maine. He was first elected mayor in 2017, then re-elected in 2019 and 2021.
Levesque has been featured in national news stories on diverse topics such as business growth, marketing, politics, and advocacy efforts at the state and federal levels. Most recently, he has been the subject of national and state discussions concerning the significant rezoning effort which he has championed, and the positive outcomes such efforts have and will continue to produce with regard to increasing the number of market-rate homes constructed.
Since its founding in 2003, and until its acquisition in 2017, his business, Argo Contact Centers, has been one of the largest employers in the region. Argo Contact Centers is the recipient of numerous local and national awards, including the L-A Metro Chamber of Commerce’s “Business of the Year” Award. Argo also made the INC. Magazine list of fastest-growing companies in America for three consecutive years.
As a member of Auburn’s School committee in addition to his duties as mayor, and his background in workforce development and economic growth, Mayor Levesque combines experience with execution to ensure Auburn’s youth and businesses reach their full potential.
Reserve your spot today for this important discussion!
Space is limited; reservations will be accepted in the order in which they arrive.
This event is proudly sponsored by